Starring Ben Affleck, Morgan Freeman, James Cromwell, Liev Schreiber, Bridget Moynahan, Pragna Desai, Alan Bates, Philip Baker Hall, Bruce McGill
Written By: Paul Attanasio, Daniel Pyne
Directed By: Phil Alden Robinson

I’m surprised this movie got released when it did and that the public actually went to see it. It’s a good movie, but I meant by the 9/11 Factor. Seeing part of a city blow up in the movie still feels weird to see.

The movie is worth watching if you like political thriller dramas like this. The Sum of All Fears is about Jack Ryan, a young analyst just starting out in the C.I.A. A nuclear bomb was discovered in some Middle Eastern country, during a war. Some middle easterner found the bomb and then sold later to an arms dealer. Then the arms dealer sold it to a Neo Nazi group. Their plan is to use the bomb to start a war with the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Jack Ryan got tapped on the shoulder from Bill Cabot, played by Morgan Freeman to help him with this situation.

This movie is based on the Tom Clancy book, and I guess this is a re-imagining of the Jack Ryan character. As I was watching it I was getting more and more confused. Because when I first read about this movie, I thought it was supposed to take place in the 1980s, yet when I’m watching the film; I’m seeing them use a palm pilot and the Internet. Then I guess it’s a prequel of the character, yet takes place after The Hunt For Red October, Patriot Games, and Clear and Present Danger. Jack Ryan was previously played by Alec Baldwin and then Harrison Ford. I liked the Ford movies, but I never saw Hunt For Red October so. Ben Affleck takes over the role as Jack Ryan and does it well.

I normally don’t like Ben Affleck but I thought he gave a good performance. Morgan Freeman always does an excellent job with the roles he takes. That’s why he’s one of my favorite actors in the biz. One character in the film that I really enjoyed was John Clark, played by Liev Schreiber. I would love to see a bunch of movies about his character. I heard there are books about John Clark or he’s in the other Jack Ryan books. I might have to read some of them then. If they made a movie about him, I would like to see Liev Schreiber come back to do the role. I thought some parts of the movie was confusing and hard to follow at times. Nazis, Arabs, and Russians oh my! But I really like to watch these political dramas. It’s kind of scary how much Tom Clancy knows about this stuff and stuff that he has written about has even came true with 9/11. I doubt they will make that Jack Ryan movie so soon.

I thought the movie was good that it had some great action scenes with Ryan and Clark, and then the bomb scene in the U.S. Ugh, my heart was racing. I also liked the scene with the President, played again by James Cromwell, arguing with all his staff on what to do. I could just imagine what George W. was doing when 9/11 was happening. I thought the ending was weird for this kind of movie because I thought I was watching the end of The Godfather. Opera playing and people getting wacked. Good scene though. Overall, If you like these types of movies and can handle the sensitive subject matter with terrorist and bombs, then definitely go see this.

Bottom Line:
Favorite Scenes: John Clark scenes, the bomb scene, the ending
Rating:
Running Time: 0 minutes
Overall Rating: